Apparatus for making combs, &amp;c.



WILQ APPAR FOR MA 00 6w APPLICATION FILED NOV.13,

956,560. Patented May 3, 1910;

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A c0 FNOTO-LITHOGRAPNERS WASHKNGTON D u r=mmm W w a PM w 1 a IAPPLIGATION PILED NOV. 13, 1909.

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- UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

JOSEPH WILGOX, OF ATHOL, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING COMBS, 8w.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH WILoox, a citizen of the United States,residing at Athol, in the county of Vorcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented a new and useful Apparatus for MakingCombs, &c., of which the following is a specification.

This is chiefly a division of my application for patent on a Method ofmaking combs filed April 25, 1908, Serial No. 429,143, but it containsadditional matter.

This invention relates to an apparatus for making ornamental backs orother parts of combs and similar articles which are formed from sheetsof celluloid, viscoloid, pyroxylin, pyralin, shell, horn, rubber, or anyother material from which such articles may be produced.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a simple andpracticable set of dies for producing that class of stamped or moldedarticles which are perforated and in which the surfaces of the skeletonbetween the perforations are rounded over so as to produce a pleasingand ornamental effect; to provide an improved punching or cutting die inwhich the die punches are set in in an inexpensive and accurate manner;to provide means for preventing the breakage of the die plate; and ingeneral to improve and simplify the apparatus for producing thisparticular type of comb backs and the like.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing which shows apreferred form of the invention, and in which Figure 1 is a transversesectional view of an embossing die and cooperating parts in position forcarrying out one step of the procedure. Fig. 2 is a similar view showingthe next step, and showing the blank in the act of being embossed. Fig.3 is a plan of the embossing die with the blank thereon and partlybroken away, and the plunger removed. Fig. 4 is a perspective view ofone of the gages. Fig. 5 is a plan of the perforating die plate andassociated parts. Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view thereof, showingthe die punches, and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the die platestraightening slide.

The molding and manipulation of celluloid, pyroxylin, and similarplastic materials, to change the form after the same has once beenproduced or molded in the form of sheets, is attended with manydifliculties. In the first place it is well known Specification ofLetters Patent.

Application filed November 13, 1909.

Patented May 3, 1910.

Serial No. 527,820.

that the celluloid, as well as kindred substances, tends to return toits original condition, that is, to the first sheet form in which it wasoriginally produced from the shapeless mass of plastic material. Severalways have been devised for attempting to overcome this natural tendencyof the celluloid, but there are some forms of articles which have beenproduced in a. permanent condition only with great difliculty andsomewhat expensive manipulations. One of these forms is that which isperforated or punched to produce afigure of what may be called askeleton form and in which it is desired to round over or otherwiseornament the skeleton frame-work between the perforations.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide a simple, convenient,and effective means for accomplishing this result.

According to this invention the results are obtained entirely by meansof dies or stamps which are so formed and manipulated that the comb backor the like, is left in a permanent form so that it will retain itsshape unless it is heated so as to destroy the condition of the stressesset up in the material. Heretofore in producing this class of perforatedwork having a large number of perforations, it has some times beennecessary to use two or more perforating dies, each one beingconstructed to produce only a part of the perforations. This was done onaccount of the high percentage of breakage of the expensive dies. Bythis invention all the perforations can be made at once, thus saving alarge percentage of time in the manufacture of the articles andconsiderable expense in the making of the dies.

This invention also involves an improvement in the method of setting thepunching dies in the head as will appear hereinafter.

The operation of making a hair ornament is as follows :The blank ofsheet material is firstcut out by any outline die to give it the properoutline. Then it is heated to the proper degree and placed upon anembossing die which has an intaglio surface provided with rounded edges,so that the projections to be produced on the blank thereby will haverounded or curved surfaces, and so that they need not be further treatedafter being removed from this embossing die. The embossin die isprovided with gages so as to properly locate the 7 brought down upon theblank from above to press the material into the embossing die. Theplunger is left in contact with the blank a short period of time toallow the impression to be made, and the material to set. The plunger isthen raised and the blank removed. Then preferably it is immediatelyplaced on a perforated die-plate having gages arranged similarly to thegages connected with the embossing die and having perforations of alocation and shape corresponding to the projections on the embossingdie, and therefore the depressions produced thereby on the blank. Onaccount of this construction the blank is so located by the gages thatit registers with the perforated die. The perforated die preferably iscovered at a distance above it by a perforated guide plate of a similarcharacter. A perforating die or punch is then brought down through thetwo perforated plates so as to punch out the parts of the blank leftdepressed thereon by the embossing die so as to leave the projectingparts of the bank in bold relief. A removable plate is placed under theperforated die to prevent breakage.

If desired the blank need not be immediately placed in the punching diesafter it comes out of the embossing dies, but there may be an intervalbetween the two operations. In this case it is much preferred not toallow this interval to be long enough to permit the blank to entirelycool off. If the blank retains a large amount of its initial heat whichit had when it was embossed, it can be slightly reheated betweenoperations without destroying the embossed surface or injuring it in anyway, and the process may be carried out in that way, but I prefer tomake the process continuous so that no re-heating is required.

Referring to the drawings it will be seen that the set of embossing diescomprises a base 10 on which is mounted the die plate 11. This die isshown as of flat form having an upper intaglio embossing surface whichis provided with rounded depressions 12 so as to form roundedprojections on the blank. Between the depressions on the die areprojections 13 which, when the die is used with the punching dies to bedescribed, may be of any desired character, but when used alone to formornamental imperforated comb-backs, these projections are provided witha stippled surface, the purpose of which is to produce an ornamentalcomb or the like of translucent material having an embossed clear figureand a background having numerous small projections constituting asurface contrasting with the embossed portion of the article. Locatedadjacent to the two edges of the embossing die are gages let and 15. Thegages are supported by springs 16 and guided by pins 17 or other guides.

The blank B is first cut out by an outline die (not shown) to the properexternal shape. Then it is heated, placed on the die plate 11, andpushed back and to one side until it comes against the two gages, whichare held above the top of the die plate by the springs. The fiat plunger18 is then brought down toward the die plate and the gages yield topermit the proper compression of the material. plane lower surfacespaced from the projections 13 so that when in position for emboss ing(as in Fig. 2) the projections will be spaced from the plane of theplunger. This causes the blank to be embossed only part way through.Along the edge of the embossing portion of this die plate is adepression or groove 50 for receiving the edge of the blank and forminga rim on the article. When the blank has been removed from this dieafter having been properly pressed and embossed, it is placed on asecond set of dies which consists of a base 20 having a central opening21 therein, and provided with a perforated die-plate 22 havingperforations 23 corresponding in location and position with the surface13 on the embossing die. On the plate 22 are gages 38, located in thesame relative position with respect to each other and the design as thegages 14: and 15. The blank is pushed back and to the right until itengages these gages, when its depressions will register with theperforations in the plate 22. Spaced a little above this plate by thegages 38 so as to receive the blank under it is a second perforatedplate 24 having similar perforations 25, and above it is a plunger head26 having die punches 27 corresponding with the perforations.

The die punches or cutting dies 27 preferably are inserted in the head26 in an improved manner. For this purpose this head is provided with adepression 30 in the face thereof preferably of dove-tailed shape andextending in from the outer surface for an appreciable distance. Itsinner walls have inwardly projecting ribs 35. lVhen the die is to bemade, the punches are individually set on the bottom of this depressionand spaced by means of a separate templet. In order to fix thempermanently and securely in position, Babbitt or other metal is castaround them' in the depression in the die. This enters the dove-tailedspace and the depression between the ribs and securely holds the punchesin position, with their ends firmly abutting against the flat floor ofthe depression. Thus the solid metal of the plunger backs up thepunches. These punches are made of tempered steel and on account of thefact that the blanks are heated when the die cutting is to be performed,they may be made with flat lower surfaces, the cutting edges coming intoengagement with the cutting edges of the tops This head or plunger has aof the perforations 23 in such av way as properly to cut the blank. If adesign is to be abandoned the soft metal can be melted out and theplunger used again, or even the dies as their temper does not need to bedrawn in melting the soft metal.

In order to prevent the breakage of the die plate 22 even when thelatter is of com paratively thin construction, and in fact to providemeans whereby this die plate can be made comparatively thin, thus savingin the expense of manufacture, and even of the material, a removablesteel plate 41 is employed. The base is provided with a horizontalpassage in the upper side thereof just under the plate 22 for receivingthe removable plate 41. The latter is fixed to its handle 42 by bolt 13or the like, and the handle extends over the plate and is provided witha projection 44 thereon for engaging the edge of the base or support 20.The plate 41 is provided with a notch at its end in which an integralprojection 45 on the base is received. This projection assists inrigidly supporting the die plate 22 above. Vith this construction itwill be seen that with a comparatively thin perforated die plate 22 thedanger of breakage is substantially reduced to a minimum, because thesteel plate 41 is supported all around its edges by the base 20, and initself supports the die plate throughout its bottom surface, so that thelatter will stand the usage to which it is put. The imporance of thiswill be obvious when it is understood that the die plates are perforatedwith a great number of holes, sometimes as many as three hundred in asmall die plate of the size shown in the drawings. This steel platesupports all the spaces between the piercing cutters no matter how thinthey may be, and it has been found in practice that it renders it practically impossible to break the perforated die plate.

IVhile I have illustrated and described a preferred form of apparatusand disclosed a preferred order of steps for carrying out the method, Iam aware that many modifications can be made therein by any personskilled in the art and that the method can be varied in detail withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.Therefore I do not wish to be limited to the details shown and describedbut \Vhat I do claim is 1. In a device of the character described, thecombination of a base, a perforated die plate carried thereby, a set ofdie punches adapted to be forced down through the perforated plate, saidbase having an opening under the die plate through which the wastepasses, and a fiat plate removably carried by said base and locatedunder the perforated plate over said openingto support the same whilethe die punches are operating upon it.

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of asupporting base having an open center, a perforated die plate supportedupon said base at its edges, said base having a horizontal passagetherein immediately below the die plate, a set of die punchescorresponding in form and position with the perforations in the dieplate and adapted to be forced down through them, and a removable platesupported near its edges by said base, fitting in said passage in thebase, and located directly under the die plate for supporting the spacesbetween the perforations thereof while the die punches are operating.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination of a basehaving an open center, a perforated die plate supported upon said baseat its edges, said base having a horizontal opening therein immediatelybelow the die plate, a set of die punches corresponding in form andposition with the perforations in the die plate and adapted to be forceddown through them, a removable steel plate fitting in said passage inthe base and located directly under the die plate for suporting thespaces between the perforations thereof while the die punches areoperating, a handle fixed to said plate for operating it, and a bufiermounted on the end of the handle for engaging the front of the base andlimiting the position of the die plate. V

4. A die plate for making hair ornaments of plastic material comprisinga support for a blank, a perforated plate fixed to the support, and aplunger having a cast metal head provided with a dove-tailed opening inits lower surface with ribs on the walls, punches located in saiddepression and extending perpendicularly to the face of the plunger, anda body of relatively soft cast metal introduced into said depressionaround said ribs and punches flush with the bottom of the head forholding the punches in position.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand, in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH WILCOX.

